IF SW:TOR will be delayed too much (some official news not speculation) I will consider RIFT as alternative. I might not be big fan of classical Fantasy, but - for a love of Darwin - I want to play something with you guys!

Just hope that upcoming PAX East will give us some info about Old Republic - good or bad - something more than "Jump Button"

PLUS my wife really like the Rift graphic and ideas. Maybe just because I'm not so exited about this game. It seems right - she always complains about TOR graphic and ideas...

2. Rift & Twitter: A cool little feature (if you use Twitter that is), under the games setting tab there is an option to connect with your Twitter account; allowing you to 'tweet' directly from inside the game (which makes sense because Twitter is all about what you're doing and where you're doing it).This really suprised me but I think its a great little feature. Another cool thing about it is that whenever you get an in-game achievement, it 'auto-posts' it to your Twitter account so anyone who is following you on there is automatically updated of your progress - kinda cool if you and your mates are the competitive types - if you beat them to an achievement its recorded forever, time-stamped and sent to the world.... you can't really rub a mate's nose in it better than that!

5 of our Guildies did our first instance run last night and it went really well, even though we had no dedicated healer and our tank had just re-specc'd from DPS class and had virtually no tanking gear!

If you're someone who's interested in Rift but haven't had a chance to play the Beta and are not exactly sure what the fuss about the actual RIFTS are all about and what they mean to the game, this very new video which was put on the net in line with the US Launch (yesterday / today) goes a long way to explain the madness!

It also has the added bonus of rounding up some of the weirdest and ugliest Game Developers of ALL TIME in one video

There'll be reviews next week nord as we've been played betas and the advanced release for pre-orders, there are dedicated servers for PvP PvE, if you want a rough and ready review I'll say this.I a first was a bit meh about it but thats only becuase it shortcomings are highlighted right at the beginning of the game i.e. theres only one route through the world up till at least lvl 28 depending on which side you take, and the classes do not always present their best talents right away there are also a few to choose from meaning you have to play for a while to experience around half the availible options for a class (becuase each class has 6 roles you can pick from to use 3of at the same time and that makes up your varied unique class).

So for alot of the time I was playing the starting area time and time again not experiencing the best classes or skills and it doesnt help the defiant starting areas are all really hectic, that said once you get out of these zones bothe your class and the areas and story really take off, the talents become more fun pretty quickly and get a good one and you can have a bunch of fun even in pvp! The areas become more interesting and you get some of those quirky WoWesque quests that are fun and you experience random Rift events which are like mini instances on the world map which appear and cause unique and large encounters.The first zone is a very generic grass area with rather standard eneimies but the next zone blows it way in visuals and enimies.

To be honest Nord, not too much has changed since the final beta, so this review is still quite valid.

I'd agree with PJK and say its a 'slow burner' but thats because we're looking at it from hardcore mmo players I think. Levels 1-6 are the tutorial levels, teaching all the stuff people who have played mmos already know.

Level 7-10 introduce you to 'the game' (how its different from other mmos) and it gets a little harder.

Level 11-20 get steadily harder, but is also when stuff like PVP, Crafting and Guilds start becoming important

Level 20+ is when it really, REALLY gets fun because you know what you're doing and the game just lets you do what you want ^^

It is a more complex mmo than it looks though, you can play it casual if you want but it is a lot more tactical than most mmos and the crafting options are pretty huge. I've done some pvp and it's fun, and you get special rewards like pvp-only classes you can unlock.

When they die, every Telaran’s spirit is swept up in the comforting embrace of the Soulstream: a river of intermingling souls drifting through the æther along the border of the Plane of Death. Though he corrupted the Plane of Death to serve his whims, Regulos was never able to influence the Soulstream.

Or this was the case. Recently, priests have been wracked with visions of souls howling in agony, torn too soon from this celestial river. Scholars ponder the case of Asha Catari, plucked from the Soulstream, tempted and tortured by Regulos himself. Could it be that the Devourer of Worlds has access to the River of Souls itself?Polluted spirit

From the edge of the Plane of Death, Alsbeth the Discordant, has control of a device that grants her access to the Soulstream, and is now able to draw forth any soul she likes, returning the poor subject to Telara as a Deathtouched minion of Regulos. If the Endless Court keeps hold of the Soulstream, death will offer no rest to the peoples of Telara, and neither gods nor machines will have souls to draw upon for Ascension.

Above the Plane of Death, the Soulstream itself appears sickly and pale. Like scum washed ashore by filthy waters, legions of walking nightmares patrol the valley. These shambling wretches wait for Alsbeth to finish harvesting the Soulstream. Then they will descend upon Telara, an undead horde to make the horror stories of the Age of Dragons seem like children’s songs. This force is so well-armed that Ascended heroes who bring them down stand a good chance of finding rare and enchanted equipment… shortly before being swallowed by the endless, reeking tide.

These unliving swarms are but foot-soldiers, a byproduct of Alsbeth’s search for the most valuable souls in the river. Two of the current prize recruits serve as Alsbeth’s lieutenants and bodyguards, keeping interlopers from interrupting her work. Each leader has orders to summon all nearby undead if ambushed, so the Ascended have no hope of a successful ambush. The Soulstream captures all souls, even those of the Planetouched, and two mighty foes the Ascended have faced and vanquished wait by the riverbanks, now eager servants of Death.

Unwilling to risk losing control over this River of Souls, Regulos has sent his herald, Gaurath to watch over the operation. The flesh has long since rotted from this undead dragon’s bones, and he yearns to share the gift of decay to all enemies of the devourer.Dreams of discord

Assuming the Ascended can battle their way through the undead throng, bring down two foes reborn into Death, and triumph over Regulos’s Herald, they will only have to face the most brilliant, vicious, and potent Necromancer in the history of Telara, with all the might of the Endless Court at her command.

Alsbeth the Discordant works tirelessly at the very front of the Soulstream, sifting through its ethereal waters to handpick the souls she will corrupt for her lord. Somewhere in the River of Souls hides the shriveled spirit of King Aedraxis, whom Alsbeth yearns to return to Telara.

All of Alsbeth's schemes and betrayals have led to the River of Souls, and she will fight with every resource available to achieve her horrid goals. Those few who have survived seeing the Bride of Regulos in battle swear that she can surround herself with an invincible barrier, and draw undead from the ground as easily as a poet summons words.

Still, if the Ascended have one chance to bring Alsbeth down and restore peace to the dead, they must enter the River of Souls, slog through the dead dust of its banks, and take on a decaying army as wyverns soar through a hollow sky above. For all the odds against the chosen, they must triumph at the River of Souls before Regulos drinks it dry.

So... Powerful Queen of undead! That's something Fresh! That's why I love Generic Fantasy sooo much! It's original, every title brings something new to the world! Tall,pale,sexy - You have to admit it's not typical view of such arch-enemy! I knew Rift will surprise me with the story!

(Yeah, I need to chill out and play SW:TOR... ups!!! Still no game for me! I just had to spill some venom to avoid self-poisoning)

Now seriously, is this the first MMO where first patch is NOT NERFing the rogues? That is actually original Good luck with beating the crap out of the Banshe*ugh* I meant Alsbeth.

Rift, like almost all other mmorpgs before it seems to suffer from a "mid-game" slump. In my experience most mmos give you an easy time for the first 10 levels or so, and then add in new features (like pvp, class alterations etc). Then, a few more things come in around level 20 (mounts, pvp-specific quests etc) and then, for some reason best known to themselves you see very little new additions to your character until end game.

Rift is, alas; just as guilty of this. At level 10 you get access to your 3rd soul and can start pvp. At level 20 loads of new abilities open up, then levels 25 - 49 are just new quests, new area, new gear. Apparenlty (though I'm not there yet) the game really opens up again at level 50, but just like every mmo I've ever played the "middle bit" seems to have little new content.

Why, if a game has - lets say - 60 levles, why not add in new game features every 10 levels? it'd make a lot more sense and keep casual gamers interested.